


The Tree

by CurrentlyLost



Category: Supernatural
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Next Door Neighbors, Sitting in a Tree Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-06 08:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21223235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CurrentlyLost/pseuds/CurrentlyLost
Summary: In which Dean Winchester sits in a tree with Castiel Novak.Loosely based off of that scene in Flipped.





	The Tree

**Author's Note:**

> This is not beta'd. Any mistakes are mine.

Castiel Novak had always been a weird guy. He didn’t speak unless spoken to, had A’s since Kindergarten, always had a book in hand, and his eyes were so intense that Dean himself could hardly make eye contact with him.

He and Castiel had lived across from each other since Dean and his family first moved into the neighborhood when he was four and Sammy, his little brother, was six months. It was a quiet town; small and Dean loved it. He made friends soon after he arrived and everyone was welcoming, but his gaze always went back to the quiet kid who sat in the center of all his classes.

Dean wanted to talk with Castiel, but he could never bring himself to do it. Instead, whenever the two somehow ended up in the same area alone, they sat in silence. Reading was something both of them took pleasure in. Castiel never ever glanced at Dean, and Dean, to his credit, would only look maybe once or twice.

Another weird thing about Castiel was that he climbed this really tall tree in the neighborhood. From when he was a little kid to now, almost a graduate. Dean would pass by on his bike or while walking by and just stare for a moment, wondering what the hell was so great about being that high in a tree. He never asked though and he went on his way.

That changed one day. Dean was walking to school with Sammy and heard yelling ahead of them, just as they were about to pass the tree Castiel sat on every morning before school and every day at sunset.

“You better come down now, boy!” A man yelled. Dean and Sam exchanged looks and went to check it out, their pace quickening. “We got orders to cut this tree down and we’re gonna do it whether you’re up there or not!” The voice belonged to a construction worker holding a chainsaw.

“Call the owner and tell him this tree will never come down!”

Dean froze. Castiel had never said a word in school, in all the years he knew him, but now he was  _ yelling _ . He looked up into the tree as he and Sam got closer and was shocked by the look of sheer panic and anger written across Castiel’s face. Dean felt for him.

“Dean, we’re gonna be late for school!” Sam said, pulling on his arm. Dean looked down at his little brother, clearly torn by what he should do and what he wanted to do. He looked back up and saw Castiel’s eyes on him, pleading with Dean. Dean looked away. Castiel’s gaze had always been too much.

Dean sighed. Sam’s school was only a block over, but he needed to make sure Sam got there. He continued walking with Sam, but it was forced. “Okay, Sammy, let’s go. Double time,” he said and they broke out into a small run. It wasn’t long before they were at Sam’s gate. “Be a good kid. I’ll see you after school.” Sam gave him a cheery smile and went into the building.

Once Dean was sure Sam was safe, he sprinted back a block over, back to the tree, back to Castiel. His heart pounded as he stopped at the tree, but he wasn’t sure if that was because of the running or he was nervous to be skipping school to sit in a tree with Castiel Novak. Dean dropped his books on the grass next to the tree and looked up. Castiel was there, looking at him with wide eyes, clearly shocked that Dean was here. Before the workers could stop him, Dean climbed up and made his way to Castiel.

“You came back,” was the first thing Castiel had ever said to him. “Why?”

Dean gave him a shy smile. “I had been planning on coming up here, but I had to make sure Sammy got to school safe.”

To his surprise, Castiel smiled at him brightly. “Thank you, Dean. They’ll probably force us down eventually, but I’m not going without a fight.”

Dean laughed. “I’m with you, man.” The two sat there in silence for another hour, and in the time a fire truck was called as well as the police and the owner of the property. “Looks like it’s getting pretty serious,” Dean noted, smiling nervously at Castiel.

“You can go down if you want to,” Castiel replied.

Dean shook his head. “I wouldn’t leave you here alone.”

“Why?”

“I’ve known you most of my life. And although we’ve never talked, I know how much this tree means to you,” Dean explained.

“But it means nothing to you, so why are you here?” Castiel asked.

Dean shrugged. “Because it’s the right thing to do. You see someone who needs help with something really important to them, you help. It’s just the way it is. I think that’s a good enough reason.”

“I don’t understand you, Dean,” Castiel said, but there was a smile in his voice. “I always thought you were a little obnoxious because of how loud you got with your friends, so I never expected you to come back and climb into this tree for me just because I needed help.”

“Well, wouldn’t you do the same?” He asked, tilting his head. It seemed like such an obvious answer, but he was stunned that Castiel shook his head.

“I don’t think I would. Unless it was important to me as well. I don’t pay attention to my surroundings outside of school much so I probably wouldn’t even notice. Had it been someone else in this tree, I would’ve kept walking, but…” He paused, fiddling with his fingers. “The view up here is beautiful. I feel  _ free _ up here. Right here on this branch, no one can call me a weirdo, no one can yell at me to do my homework or to keep studying, and no one can judge me. I can just be  _ me _ up here.”

Dean blinked. “That’s a damn good reason to make sure this tree stays here, doesn’t it?” He said. “I know you don’t like to pay attention to anything other than school, but I think you should. One day, someone might need help with something super important to them, just like this tree is to you, and you can help them. You can help and say that you understand exactly what they’re feeling and you can sit with  _ them _ in their tree, whether it’s a literal tree or not.”

“You know,” Castiel said. “You’re a really great person.”

Dean’s cheeks burned and he cleared his throat. “I’ve… I’ve wanted to talk to you for so long, you know, but I just never did.”

“Why not?” Castiel asked.

“Honestly? I was afraid you’d ignore me. That, and, well, your eyes are… intense.”

“So that’s why you’ve never looked into my eyes longer than a second since you’ve come up here?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, they’re just…”

“Scary?” Castiel asked.

“No, they’re pretty!” He blurted out. “I mean, that… They’re, like, really nice.”

Castiel laughed softly. “Thank you, Dean. I think your eyes are pretty, too.” Dean couldn’t fight the blush off that time. “And your freckles, too. I never noticed you had any, but being this close with the sun right on your face they’re very noticeable.”

“Thanks, Cas.” He shifted on the branch. “My ass is actually numb right now.”

“Did you want to go down?”

“I wouldn’t even if you did.”

Castiel gave him the best smile he’d ever seen.

They both stayed up in that tree learning about one another until Dean’s father came up on a ladder and gave Dean a stern look.

“Dean, what are you doing?” He asked. Dean looked at Castiel and gave him a reassuring smile before turning back to face his dad with a determined look in his eyes.

“The right thing.”

“What are you talking about? You’re skipping class and sitting in a tree and causing a disturbance!” John said.

“Castiel needed help. And you’ve  _ always _ taught me to help those that need it, even if it doesn’t exactly mean anything to you, so that’s what I’m doing. Castiel loves this tree and how it makes him feel,” Dean explained. “And I’ll stay here all night long if it means that it stays up.”

John gave him a hard look and Dean gave one right back, holding his ground before John finally sighed. He reached over and ruffled Dean’s hair with a proud smile on his face.

“That’s my boy.”

Dean’s smiled was bright.

John climbed back down and told the owner everything and, to Dean and Castiel’s surprise, the owner promised to keep the tree up. Dean and Castiel hugged, completely elated with the turn out. Slowly, they climbed down and the crowd dispersed. The news wanted to interview them, but Dean insisted that only Castiel do it since it was his tree. 

Dean understood just what Castiel was talking about on the climb down. The view was as amazing as it could get and he wanted nothing more than to make sure that tree stayed up. Unfortunately, the owner didn’t keep his word and by the time school ended the next day, the tree was gone.

Dean stood there, his hand on Castiel’s shoulder as he looked at the stump where his tree used to be. He never said a word when a sob left Castiel’s lips, and he never said a word as he pulled Castiel into a hug, letting the other mourn on his shoulder. Dean walked him home that afternoon and as soon as Castiel closed his front door with a small ‘thank you’, he ran back to the tree stump and sat there.

It wasn’t too long before the construction workers came to dig out the stump, but he just sat there.

“You again, kid?” One of them asked, annoyance high in his voice.

“Yeah, me again. Call the owner and tell him I’d like to have a word with him,” he said, letting his voice drip with annoyance right back.

“Look, you’re trespassing. We’ll call the cops.”

Dean rolled his eyes but sighed. “I know you’re just doing your job and I respect that, so is it too hard for you all to respect that this tree meant something to the guy I was with yesterday? He’s been climbing up on this tree since he was a little boy and it let him escape the pressures that everyone was putting on him, being a straight-A student and all, and now it’s gone. After the owner had given his  _ word _ to him. A man’s word should be the most powerful thing he’s got. A man’s word should be kept.” Dean sighed again. “But it wasn’t, so what message did that send to us? That it doesn’t matter if someone gives their word? That’s not right. That’s down right messed up.”

The construction workers just stared at him. They seemed to be taking it in and that was enough for Dean. He stood up.

“I understand you’re doing your job, like I said, but, please, make sure to respect other people’s reasons next time. We weren’t trying to make your life harder or prevent you from getting paid. We were just trying to do the right thing. We were trying to make sure that beautiful tree stayed up where it belonged. Thanks for listening,” Dean said and turned to walk away. He froze when he saw Castiel there with tears in his eyes.

“For what it’s worth,” one of the guys said behind Dean. “We’re sorry. That tree was really beautiful.” Dean turned back and gave them a smile before moving to Castiel’s side.

“Let’s go home, Cas.”

The two walked side by side in silence until they made it to their street. Then Castiel spoke, “What you said, Dean… Thank you. I mean it,” he said. “You understand me and what that tree meant to me. It’s more than I ever got from anyone else.” Castiel gave him a hug and Dean gladly returned it.

“No worries, Cas,” he mumbled into Castiel’s shoulder. When Castiel pulled away, he was expecting a shoulder squeeze like he’d gotten yesterday or even just a bright smile, but he wasn’t expecting Castiel’s to kiss him in the middle of the street. Even more so, Dean was surprised that he kissed back, pulling Castiel closer to him.

“Wow,” Castiel whispered when they parted. “Better than I imagined.”

Dean blushed. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me,” he admitted, biting his lip.

“I always thought you were extremely good looking, but I hadn’t wanted to kiss you until yesterday, when you climbed into the tree with me.” Dean’s blush grew and he didn’t know what to say so he toed at the gravel beneath his shoes. “Would you like to go on a date, Dean?”

“Yes,” Dean answered immediately. Castiel gave him the sweetest smile as he leaned his forehead against Dean’s.

“Thank you for climbing on that tree with me,” Castiel mumbled.

Dean smiled, pressing his lips against Castiel’s once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! Follow me on Tumblr at castielsangel-blade!


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